Grzegorz Kwiatkowski

Innovation gaps in Scandinavian rural tourism

ABSTRACT Drawing on primary data from a consumer survey (N = 2000), this study demonstrates a clear growth potential in rural tourism in Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, which is, however, hampered by innovation gaps. At the conceptual level, the study offers a model that identifies the following five innovation gaps in Scandinavian rural tourism: (1) the portfolio gap, (2) the policy departmentalization gap, (3) the knowledge gap, (4) the change motivation gap, and (5) the resource interpretation gap. At the empirical level, the study shows that rural tourism has its basis in a dichotomy between authenticity and modernization. New and prospective customer groups, particularly from Germany, demand more diversified and higher quality rural tourism products than current groups, for example, in relation to outdoor opportunities, leisure festivals, and cultural activities. With rural assets, it is possible to expand the portfolio without compromising the rural image. Rural tourism enterprises and destinations remain slow movers in terms of innovation endeavours, and the study indicates that the discrepancies between potential customers’ service expectations and their spending patterns can partially explain this phenomenon. The merit of the innovation gap model is that this model identifies potential rebalancing actions at both enterprise and destination levels.

Profile, patterns of spending and economic impact of event visitors: evidence from Warnemünder Woche in Germany

ABSTRACT In recent years, many coastal cities in Scandinavia and the Baltic region have invested heavily in hosting sailing events as a means to spark local development and as a tool to attract tourists. However, scant research has examined visitors to those events, particularly in terms of their profile characteristics and expenditure patterns. Against this backdrop, this study aims to shed more light on the characteristics of visitors to such events and their spending patterns by using primary data from 1011 attendees to the German sailing event Warnemünder Woche held in Rostock in summer 2013. Insights offered by this research are important from both an economic and a marketing standpoint. Regarding the first point, the study delivers key evidence on visitors’ origin, primary motivation, and average spending, which constitute crucial input variables for future ex ante economic impact assessments of comparable events (e.g. Tall Ships’ Races and other sailing events hosted along the coast in Scandinavia and Baltic countries). Regarding the second, by providing a clear-cut picture of event visitors’ profile and spending patterns, this research offers a fertile agenda for further marketing inquiries and practical endeavors for Warnemünder Woche’s organizers and marketers. Accordingly, several cases for action are highlighted.

Economic Impact of Events and Festivals on Host Regions - Methods in Practice & Potential Sources of Bias

Abstract Introduction. The topic of economic significance of sport events attracts substantial attention in the fields of sport event management and economics. The main objective of this article is to review international literature on economic impact of sport events, and in particular, to give a special thought to key features of primary economic impact studies and potential sources of bias. Material and methods. The paper builds upon an extensive international literature survey. Results. This paper provides an overview of studies on economic impact of events as well as it serves as a reference guide for further studies including empirical attempts. Notably, the latter is of great value for local decision makers and students who attempt to calculate direct economic impact of various sport events but are at the same time facing the lack of reference in this regard. Conclusions. The review concludes that (a) assessing the economic impact of an event is a non-trivial task and (b) there is still much to be learned about how to conduct economic impact assessment in a reliable manner.

Evaluation of Conditions Concerning the Development of Tourism. Investigation into the Basin of the Parsęta River

Evaluation of Conditions Concerning the Development of Tourism. Investigation into the Basin of the Parsęta River The article presents the results of multidimensional evaluation of conditions concerning the development of tourism in rural areas of Parsęta basin. For the purpose the synthetic measure has been applied in reference to 27 variables divided into two groups: suitable for tourism or investing. Having conducted the analysis of the selected variables, the investigated area was divided into three regions: the seaside at the North with very good conditions for the development of the touristic function as its core function, the central region, highly diversified with only moderate touristic capabilities, and finally the southern region, the lake district, with adequate features for the development of tourism.

Primary Economic Impact of Small-Scale Sports Events

The assumption that events can have positive economic impacts has increased interest in their hosting by many destinations worldwide. Although attendees are a constitutive part of events, scarce research has empirically analyzed their behavior from an economic standpoint. In particular, further exploratory research is required on (1) how much money event attendees spend at events, and (2) the extent to which event attendee expenditures positively affect the host region. A better understanding of these two aspects is crucial for any kind of economic impact assessment. This study examines three World Cup ski-jumping events in Norway during the winter of 2012-2013. Altogether, 870 spectators were interviewed at the venues in Vikersund, Trondheim, and Oslo. Prior research has estimated that the proportion of spectators contributing to a positive economic impact is between 10% and 60%. The current study shows that the share of this spectator group at the World Cup ski-jumping events in Norway lies in the lower part of the range. Furthermore, the study shows that though the total number of spectators was significant (137,000), the primary economic impact on the host region was modest, amounting to less than NOK 9 million.

Participatory Budgeting in Polish Cities: Funds’ Allocation Mechanism

This study aims to shed more light on the variance among the allocation mechanisms within the participatory budgeting (PB) in Polish cities with district rights. To collect data, documentary research of the official documents (mayors and councils resolutions as well as PB regulations) was applied for 64 cities, where the tasks financed through PB are carried out in 2017. The results show a great variation in PB allocation mechanisms and allows to distinguish the following projects’ divisions: (a) investment and societal projects, (b) small and large projects, (c) citywide and “local” projects. Of the analyzed cities, the largest percentage of cities (48.5%) introduced the division of projects into citywide and “local” projects.